Fort Myers DUI Accident Lawyer

Naples and Port Charlotte DUI Accident Arrest Attorney

If you are involved in a car accident that results in DUI charges against you those charges will be enhanced (meaning you can be sentenced more severely than if the DUI did not inlcude an accident). If you are charged with DUI and your accident did not result in serious injury but did result in damage the charge can be increased to a first degree misdemeanor. This means that the maximum amount of jail time you could be sentenced to increases from 180 days to one year. In order to prove DUI resulting in damage or non serious injury the Prosecutor will have to prove all of the elements of a DUI plus the additional element of operation of a vehicle causing or contributing to damage to property or non serious injury to another person.

If you are charged with DUI while involved in an accident that results in serious bodily injury the charge may be further enhanced from a first degree misdemeanor to a third degree felony. Third degree felonies are punishable by up to five years in prison. In order to prove DUI resulting in serious bodily injury the Prosecutor will have to prove all of the elements of the DUI plus the additional element of operation of a vehicle resulting in serious bodily injury to another. Serious bodily injury is defined by Florida Statute 316.1933(1) as “a physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.”

The most serious DUI accident situation is a DUI related to death. DUI cases that result in fatalaties are known as DUI manslaughter cases. DUI manslaughter is extremely serious as it relates to the death of another person and as such DUI manslaughter is a second degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison. To learn more about DUI manslaughter please click on the DUI Manslaughter tab on this webpage under DUI Defense.

If you are inolved in a DUI car accident case in Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda or Cape Coral you are facing more serious charges than a standard DUI. It is important that you hire an experienced DUI Criminal Defense Lawyer to guide you through the process and fight on your behalf. The Criminal Defense Attorneys at Viacava & Cantor are ready to assist you in your DUI accident case. Contact a laywer from Viacava & Cantor today at (239) 672-8934 to schedule a free consultation to discuss the specific facts of your DUI accident case.